A Guide to Sitges Gay Pride: Spain’s Top Gay Destination

Sitges is one of our favorite spots in all of Spain. Just 40 minutes south of Barcelona by train, this little town is a must see when in the Catalonia capital either for a day trip or even staying a for a few nights. For a small town, the nightlife is fantastic and reminiscent of Lisbon’s drinking-in-the-street style outside of the local bars. There’s also plenty of shopping to do, long stretches of beaches to tan on, and a slew of restaurants to choose from. Everything is centrally located and easily walkable or accessible via bike.

Gay Pride Events

Sitges Gay Pride is a super organized annual affair – in fact, they’ve already got their gay pride week dates planned for next year! – with a fantastic lineup of events and performances. Events run from Thursday to Monday and include T dances, drag shows, pool parties, a high heel race, various music performances and DJs, themed club parties and of course, the parade which takes place on Sunday afternoon.

Parade

The parade route follows the coast for a beautiful beachfront backdrop. It has a great turn out with very energetic participants and spectators. The floats are quite elaborate and the music matched the energy of the crowd. Though it’s not a particularly large parade, it feels bigger than it is for the small town.

Crowd

Muscle. There’s a lot of fit men at this event and not nearly as many women. It also seems that there are just an many foreigners than Spaniards, if not more. As for the age range Sitges, Spain is generally known to attract an older gay crowd throughout the year, but Sitges Pride brings about older and younger alike.

Prices

Prices for Sitges Pride are mix of reasonable and a bit pricey. At the Pride village, food and drinks prices aren’t bad with beer going for €3, cocktails at €7, and a bocadillo (sandwich) at €4 to give an idea. However, the entrance to the official parties range from €15 to €25 each, but for as well organized as these events are and the first drink included with the entrance, it’s really not a bad deal. Pride village is free and if you want to save the money on club entrances, there are plenty of bars that don’t charge entrance and stay busy all weekend long.

What makes it unique?

Sitges is a smaller Pride that feels larger than it is.The previous year it attracted 40,000 attendees and though that’s nothing compared to Madrid’s 2 million, it’s quite impressive for a town with a population of less than 30,000 inhabitants. As it brings in a lot of foreigners, the entire program was bilingual (Spanish & English) if not trilingual (French) and surprisingly, almost never Catalan. Another great feature of this Pride is that the Pride Village is in a great spot along the beaches of Sitges.

Sitges Gay Scene

The gay scene in Sitges is remarkable. It’s one of the top gay destinations in Spain year round and perhaps even too gay-friendly – if there’s such a thing! – during Pride. Sure you can go to the official Sitges gay beach (Playa De la Bassa Rodona) to tan, but any beach you choose is going to be gay-friendly. The nightlife is also incredible with plenty of gay bars and clubs to rival Barcelona’s E’xaimple.

History

Sitges Pride is young having only celebrated it’s fourth Pride in 2014. However, with it’s great turnout and well planned itinerary, you’d think it’s been going on for decades.

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Tips

Stay in the center or walking distance to the center of Sitges. It’s a walking town, so you’ll never need a taxi if you’re centrally located. Book your place ahead of time if you’re on a budget because places get booked quickly during Pride, though there are plenty of accommodations. The Pride Village is a bit small, but the performances are really good so don’t miss them. If you rent an apartment or book a hotel with a beach view along Passeig Marítim, you’ll be able to watch the parade from your balcony. As for visiting Sitges outside of Pride, it’s more than a day trip destination so plan to stay a night or two and really soak it in.

19 Comments

Looks fun! Might have to check Sitges out sometime.
Funny, I kept thinking the whole time looking at the photos that everyone is very muscular, then you pointed it out… I think I’d feel a little underdeveloped surrounded by so much muscle :$

Thanks for your story on Sitges. As you know Sitges is a fav of mine. After visiting there off season last year, I have thought about taking an apartment for a few months to host friends and enjoy this little gem on a more permanent basis.

Sitges is great! I go there with my man and a bunch of friends pretty much every year . We were there for Pride as well and actually I’m staying another few days there next week. It’s only a 2hr flight from Zurich. I love that little town with its great atmosphere (not to forget with a great nightlife).
P.S. You should visit Zurich in summertime next time :-)

Hi Ralph. We’ve never properly visited Zurich. Only one time during a 4 hour train stopover to another destination. It was in summer but, of course, didn’t see much with so little time. We’ll go back sometime for sure! And yes, Sitges is our fav!!!

I grew up in a little town near Sitges, and I confirm that Sitges is great! It actually has one of the best Carnivals in the peninsula, and the “Festa Major de Santat Tecla” is also worth a visit. The town itself has a lot more to offer though, with it’s charming old quarter, and the “Museu Cau Ferrat”, Santiago Rusiñol’s studio, a Catalan modernist painter and writer. I always recommend it to friends visiting Barcelona as it’s only a 40 min train ride using the 3 zone card. :)

[…] Escape the winter weather at home and enjoy a fun and party-filled LGBT event on the coast. Gay Pride in Sitges is of course a great excuse to visit in June and the event draws more than 50,000 people with the […]

Ah those hot boys in the pictures are good reason alone to go and visit. wow 40k people coming to gay pride for such a small town is very impressive. Does it get very crowded or packed? Love that it’s in English for those of us who don’t speak Spanish.